Proposed public-health school could bolster research, services

Colorado’s leading public research universities have launched a cooperative effort to create a new Colorado School of Public Health, aimed at closing gaps in public health education, research and service in the state and region. The school would be the only school of public health in the Rocky Mountain region. Officials with Colorado State University, the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Colorado say the proposed school could put the state at the forefront of public-health-related issues such as bio-security, infectious disease, epidemiology and health education and public health practice. This collaborative effort could open new sources for research funding, provide better training for public health professionals and improve overall all public-health services to Northern Colorado communities and beyond.x09 The three universities plan to draw together existing programs and offerings in building this collaborative effort. The proposal is not new, said Richard Hamman, chairman of the Department of Preventative Medicine and Biometrics at the University of Colorado at Denver Health Science Center. “There has been interest over the past 20 years in trying to develop a school of public health in Colorado or the Rocky Mountain region.” All three institutions involved already have some level of training in public health in place, Hamman said. In a sense, it is a sign of the times that the Colorado School of Public Health is coming together now. “Current events — bio-terrorism and increased awareness of the public-health function as well as an aging public-health work force and decaying public health infrastructure — all called for some public action at this time,” Hamman said. As proposed, students attending the Colorado School of Public Health would be based at any of the three campuses. The school would begin by offering a master’s degree in public health with concentrations in five areas: epidemiology, bio-statistics, environmental health, behavioral science and community health, and health services administration and policy. Operations could begin in 2007. In order to attain accreditation — a goal for the public-health school — it must offer master’s degrees in each of these areas and a doctoral degree in at least one. The University of Colorado will serve as the lead institution, housing the administrative structure for the Colorado School of Public Health. This meets another requirement for accreditation. “You have to have what is called a lead institution among equals,” explained Robbyn Wacker, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at UNC. Wacker said cooperation among the three universities makes sense from a variety of angles. “With the challenges facing higher education in a fiscal sense, it makes sense to say how can we collaborate, how can we cooperate to become more efficient and effective in meeting a need.” One example of the depth of that need is illustrated by training levels in the existing public-health infrastructure, Wacker said. “One of the statistics I’ve seen in our materials is that something like over 50 percent of the public health workforce has no formal public-health education.” By pooling resources and working together, the three institutions can bring leadership and focus to closing the public-health gap in the state and region, Wacker said. The formation of a Colorado School of Public Health could open new sources of research funding, said Hank Gardner, associate vice president for research at Colorado State. In some cases, requests for proposals for research projects released by the federal government are limited to accredited schools of public health only. “So it will give us those opportunities, as well,” Gardner said. In addition, having a school of public health located in this region should help meet the needs of underserved populations here, Gardner said. Enhanced public-health training can translate into enhanced public-health services to rural and other underserved populations. Kay Norton, president of University of Northern Colorado, noted in a recent press release: “Opportunities to enhance the public-health training and service in Colorado through the Colorado School of Public Health are many. Rural, Native American, Hispanic and inner-city populations will benefit as public-health practitioners have access to this school.” Colorado State President Larry Penley said the school will help to build the advanced workforce needed to address local health issues as well as global challenges such as tuberculosis, AIDS, West Nile virus and others. Penley said the new school would provide new educational opportunities such as creation of a combined doctor of veterinary medicine and master’s of public health program. Leaders of the three universities signed a memorandum of understanding in October, agreeing to collaborate on a strategic plan for the school. An initial version of that plan is under review by each of the three institutions, Gardner said. Faculty and administrators from the three schools are looking at program offerings and curriculum. The Colorado School of Pubic Health will share faculty and administration and use a single tuition structure. Officials have said they expect the school to be self-supporting through tuition revenue, grants and contracts.

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